Apple's online store was offline Tuesday night for an unknown update that the company expects to be completed by 1 a.m. PT.

The outage, a familiar procedure before a major Apple product release, began around 9 p.m. PT. However, the reason for the outage was unclear as no major releases are expected for at least two weeks.

Apple will reportedly hold a special event on October 22 to unveil new iPads, along with the Mac Pro and OS X Mavericks. However, the event has not been confirmed by Apple. Apple typically invites media to such events a week or so before, suggesting we'll all have more details early next week.

It's also possible that tonight's update will focus on enhancements to Apple's iPhone ordering system -- perhaps including the addition of an actual reservation system.